Chicago…

If I remember correctly, this place…

…opened its doors for business in early 2020, just before the outbreak of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown so it is actually a few years old now.

I was not in a hurry to check it out as it is located in that very congested part of town where parking is virtually impossible and the whole time throughout the pandemic, the hotel across the road was used as a quarantine centre so I avoided the place like a plaque. In the meantime, I heard people in Kuching saying that it is actually a spin-off of our long-established Sarawak fast food franchise, the Sugar Bun and they insist that the food here is much nicer.

Well, finally, at long last, I was able to drop by the other day! I was telling myself that I would go there and buy some stuff of dinner IF I could find a parking space and lo and behold! There was one vacant, right in front of the restaurant below the sign in the above photograph. It sure looked like I was pre-destined to give it a try.

I wouldn’t say I liked what I saw when I entered the place…

The predominant black colour made it look dark and gloomy, not bright and cheerful like most other franchise joints of this nature…

They said that the fish burger here is nicer than our favourite at Sugar Bun’s so I bought both the two that they had on their menu, the basic (RM12.30) and the other one with cheese (RM13.50)…

…to try. For one thing, they were more expensive than Sugar Bun’s despite the recent hike in their price (now RM9.30 each).

The fish fillet was coated with batter, not bread crumbs and it sure looked like they were a lot more generous here with the ingredients/filling…

Both looked like they were more or less the same size though but eating this one felt like forever – I ate and I ate and there did not seem to be an end to it. Somehow or other, I think I enjoyed the one at Sugar Bun a lot more.

I also bought the broasted chicken (3 pieces) and mashed potatoes (RM18.50)…

…with a special request for the drumsticks, only to be told that they only had two so I had to be happy with part of the thigh for the third piece and that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The drumsticks had been under the food warmer for too long a time and the ladies (they had one each) complained that they were hard and dry.

I tried a bit of the thigh and it was perfectly all right but I did not like the taste – it was way too peppery and salty for me. I just had a bit and my missus finished off the rest and yes, she said it was nice and moist, not like the drumstick that she had earlier. I would, without doubt, vote in favour of the ones at Sugar Bun!

The mashed potatoes were disappointing – the ones at Colonel Sanders’ win hands down but the coleslaw…

…was pretty good.

I could not find any evidence, other than the use of the word “broasted” and the fish burgers on their menu, that would link this place to Sugar Bun. I did see one whole section of the menu devoted to the items from SCR (Singapore Chicken Rice) – we used to go to some of the outlets here (not all are good) but all, except one (behind Hong Kong Bank) have closed down. I also saw a banner captioned “Laksarama“, promoting 12 different ways of serving Sarawak laksa but no, you will not find me rushing back here to give them a try, thank you very much.

The total came up to RM44.30, RM46.95 altogether with the 6% service tax and seeing how we were not at all impressed by what I bought that day PLUS they did not have our favourite Sugar Bun’s menu options such as their sambal eco-fish (deep fried tilapia) and assam fish, their chicken mushroom and their beef stew, it sure does not look like I will be dropping by here again all that soon.

CHICA.GO 7 (2.288749, 111.830342) is located at No. 58, Jalan Kampung Nyabor Road, directly opposite Premier Hotel/Sarawak House.